Dec. 11, 2006
Box Score | 
EASTON, Pa. - On a night when Lafayette's shooting finally cooled off, Columbia shot 62 percent from the field and the Lions handed the Leopards a 75-58 loss on Monday night at Kirby Sports Center. John Baumann led the Lions with 21 points and seven rebounds.
Columbia's (7-3) offense got on track early. The Lions used a 15-4 run, starting with a Baumann put back at 16:36 and culminating with his dunk at the eight minute mark to make the score 20-8.
After trailing by as many as 15 in the first half, the Leopards showed they would not go quietly. A 12-4 run over the final 2:57 of the first half, including an Andre Hines offensive rebound and put back sandwiched between two Marcus Harley field goals, cut the Lion lead to 35-30 at halftime.
Columbia came storming out of the intermission, forcing the Leopards into three straight turnovers to start the second half. The Lions stretched the lead to 13 at 46-33 with 14:49 left in the game.
Lafayette (4-7) closed the margin to 13 (67-54) on a Matt Betley three-pointer with 4:40 remaining. A final 8-0 run over the next two minutes, capped off by a Niko Scott basket, helped close out the 75-58 decision.
Betley was the only Leopard in double figures, pacing Lafayette with 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting. The Leopards shot 38 percent (18-for-47) from the field and 15-for-21 (74 percent) from the charity stripe.
Columbia's 62 percent (28-for 45) shooting from the field included a 66 percent effort in the second half. Along with Baumann's 21 points, Foley and Montgomery also notched double figures, scoring 17 and 10, respectively.
Lafayette will break for finals. The Leopards will have a nine-day hiatus from game action before returning to the floor on Dec. 20 to face King's.
NOTES: Head coach Fran O'Hanlon used his fifth starting lineup of the season. Tonight's starters included Betley, Hines, Harley, Bilal Abdullah, and tri-captain Kerry Kenny.
Columbia out-muscled Lafayette 34-21 on the boards, with Baumann leading the way with seven. Hines and Jamaal Hilliard each grabbed four a piece for the Leopards.
The Leopards forced Columbia into 19 turnovers and tallied 11 steals of their own, with Andrew Brown and Ted Detmer leading the way with three each.
The teams combined for 44 fouls in the game, with Columbia notching 23 fouls and the Leopards totaling 21.
